This invention relates generally to a manually operated dispenser having a reciprocable plunger head containing a discharge orifice through which product is dispensed upon head reciprocation. More particularly, the invention relates to a protector cap pivotally mounted on the plunger head, normally covering the discharge orifice during non-use, and automatically uncovering the orifice at the initiation of manual reciprocation of the head.
Manually actuated pump dispensers are well known for dispensing a variety of products upon finger actuation of a plunger head which reciprocates the pump piston traveling within a pump cylinder for pressurizing the product and discharging it through a discharge passage located in the head which terminates in a discharge orifice. The products to be dispensed, as by spraying, include hair sprays and other resinous containing materials which, upon drying, upon exposure to the atmosphere, tend to clog the spray discharge orifice. Clogging interferes with the free flow of discharge by causing sputtering and uneven spray patterns.
Protector caps and covers have been devised to prevent the drying out of the discharged material in the discharge spout or orifice and to prevent its contamination. The known caps and covers employed for this purpose are, however, rather cumbersome, difficult to operate, and are costly to fabricate. Moreover, they are so structured as to render them unwieldy and unattractive.